Senior Travel and Work in Dunedin and Greater Tampa Bay

Money Magazine named Dunedin one of the best places to retire in the USA from 2010 to the present. Other recommended favorites include Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg.

One of the good things about Dunedin is that during Summer 2011, golf carts became street legal. They make an excellent, sustainable form of alternative transportation for those who no longer drive a car but can handle a cart.

Children can't drive golf carts legally on the streets, but only on specially designated paths, and the carts must be registered and kept on permitted streets.

In addition, Dunedin sponsors the Jolley Trolley service that runs from Dunedin conveniently to Clearwater Beach, Palm Harbor, and Tarpon Springs every Friday through Sunday. This brings back memories of a simpler time in which residents road the trolley cars of towns and cities in America to the trolley parks for band performances and picnics.

The Jolley Trolley runs from Dunedin to Clearwater every 30 minutes from 10:00 AM to the 11:30 PM last stop on its scheduled days. From Friday through Sunday, it runs to Downtown Clearwater and the other cities mentioned. The two routes are both run on Sundays.

The US Census Bureau reports the population of Dunedin, Florida to be approximately 37,000 individuals in 2015. While not a huge metropolis, it offers good, services, transportation options, and housing choices for people of any age. Families, singles, and Seniors love this town.

The cost of living here is reported as below the national average by a full 5.9%, which makes the city more affordable overall. Sales Tax is 7% and there is no city income tax.

Sperling's Best Places rates Dunedin within the Top 50 Romantic Places for Boomers and State Farm Insurance rates the city as the Number Three Most Fiscally Fit City (along with the Greater Tampa Bay Area) on its Top 50 list.

• Dunedin Highland Games and Festival - Named after Gaelic traditions, Dunedin hosts an annual Highlander games with traditional events and foods.
• Hammock Park is a beautiful natural setting that houses a large Butterfly Garden.
• Honeymoon Island Park. Once known as Hog Island, this place offers many events and recreation options that include Trick or Treat, Scary Trail, child oriented games, and special family activities observed on the last weekend of October each year. Located just north of Caladesi Island.

• Westfield Countryside Mall - Just east of Dunedin at 27001 US Highway 19 North, Clearwater FL 33761. Several major department stores act as anchors - from Dillard's to Whole Foods - and an ice rink is offered in the center of the mall. Unique additions are a play space for the kids and a family lounge with relaxation areas and even TV. Special events keep a trip to the mall interesting for people of all ages.

Pinellas County Florida Botanical Gardens are beautiful, fragrant, and relaxing; and the local County Trail System is called the Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail, with 39 miles of safe pathways though the county.

Local Hospitals and Medical Centers

• BayCare Alliant Hospital - Dunedin
• Largo Medical Center - Largo, southwest of Dunedin
• Mease Countryside Hospital - Morton Plant Mease in Safety Harbor, east of Dunedin
• Town and Country Hospital - Tampa

Animal Hospitals

• Animal Hospital of Dunedin

Local Sports

• Toronto Blue Jays - Spring Training at Dunedin Florida Auto Exchange Stadium
• Dunedin Blue Jays - Minor League Baseball - Florida State League (FSL)
• Dunedin Highland Games - Celebrated during Scottish Events Week each summer (see link above)

Higher Education and Training

The choices of post-secondary school in the Dunedin area is good and these facilities are part of the arts and cultural scenes with their own museums, galleries, and performance arts.

• Clearwater Christian College
• Central Florida Institute - Palm Harbor -- Offers training in important Medical technologies
• DeVry University - Tampa
• Dunedin Fine Art Center
• Florida Career College - Tampa
• Sanford-Brown Institute - Tampa
• Schiller International University - Dunedin
• Strayer University - Tampa
• Trinity College - Dunedin/Port Richey
• Ultimate Medical Academy - Clearwater and Tampa
• Zion Christian University - Clearwater

The Greater Tampa Bay Area that includes Dunedin and other smaller towns is one in which a range of jobs are available, many of them well paying.

This type of job market makes Dunedin a good place for any age to settle and make a home. Retirees that want to continue working can find employment here.

Emerging jobs in Aviation and Aerospace operations advertised in the Dunedin area include.

Job Titles:

• Manned Airship Pilots
• Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) Pilots

Company:

• MAV6, LLC; a Defense Contractor and Aerospace Company.

Product:

Blue Devil Airship: USAF Surveillance Blimp

The United States Air Force announced in October 2011 that it was testing its Blue Devil 2 airship (blimp) for deployment to Afghanistan in 2012. Developed by MAV6, LLC the airship is designed to use surveillance items that include wide-area cameras capable of scanning 36 miles² of landscape at a time.

The prototype blimp was inflated with helium and stored in Elizabeth City, NC by MAV6, LLC and further developed. The Blue Devil 2 is an airship that is 370 feet long. Its volume is 1.4 million feet³. The need for pilots in the manned and unmanned program is growing.

The top companies hiring in the Dunedin area involve Engineering and Aerospace Technologies as well as other technological pursuits:

1. Lockheed Martin: A big partner in the NASA Commercial Crew.
2. Deloitte
3. Jabil
4. General Dynamics: Member of Commercial Crew.
5. Kelly Engineering Resources
6. PDS Technical Services
7. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC): Member of Commercial Crew.
8. SAIC; Member of Commercial Crew.
9. BAE Systems: Member of Commercial Crew.
10. Nielsen Company
11. Honeywell: Member of Commercial Crew.
12. General Electric: Member of Commercial Crew.

1. Registered Nurses(RNs)
2. Occupational Therapists
3. Physical Therapists and Assistants
4. Customer Service Representatives
5. CNAs - Certified Nurse Assistants
6. Salespeople
7. Assistant Managers
8. Nursing Staff- LPNs, LVNs, CNAs, other
9. Speech Therapists
10. Project Managers - IT

Additional High Demand Jobs:

1. Dental Assistants
2. Account Executives
3. Business Analysts
4. Outside Sales Representatives
5. Physicians

Additional Moderate-Demand Jobs:

1. Software and Sr. Software Engineers and Developers
2. Systems Engineers
3. Tech Analyst-Systems Architects
4. Project Engineers
5. Ui Developers
6. Network Engineers
7. Engineering Technicians
8. Assembler - 1St Shift
9. Principal Engineer
10. Automation Engineers
11. Remedy Report Administrators
12. Q& A Engineers